Kosovo and coal

With funding from the World Bank, Kosovo is currently embarking on a power sector strategy that involves closing five outdated generating units by 2015 (the Kosova A power station), cleaning up poorly managed coal ash dumps produced by those units, and building a new lignite mine and associated generating plant.

Coal and power companies
Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK) is the sole power corporation in the Republic of Kosovo. KEK is vertically integrated and was legally incorporated in 2005. KEK was part of the Yugoslavia power system, and focused in production of energy from coal, with power supplied from plants outside of Kosovo. By the late 1990s, the core business of the Corporation became the production of coal and energy in Kosovo, through two open-cast coal mines - the Mirash mine and Bardh mine - and two power plants, PP “Kosova A” and PP "Kosova B power station”, which cover the territory of Kosovo. There are approximately 400,000 customers and 8,000 employees in different sectors.

A 2010 EU report stated that the "legal unbundling of the distribution and supply functions of the Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK) is due at the end of 2010 with a view to privatisation. Until completion of the new Kosovo power plant project, the other functions will remain integrated in KEK."

Coal Reserves
Kosovo has an estimated 14,700 metric tons of lignite coal, the world's fifth-largest proven reserves of lignite. Often referred to as "brown coal," lignite is considered the dirtiest of all fossil fuels.

Sibovc Coal Mine
Sibovc coal mine is located in Obilić, near Pristina.

Mirash and Bardh Coal Mines
The Mirash and Bardh open-cast coal mines are lignite coal mines in Kosovo operated by the Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK).

Kosova A
This plant was built in the early 1960s, and is located several miles northwest of Pristina. It is operated by Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK). It comprises five units and uses coal from the Mirash coal mine.

Kosova B
Kosovo B power station was built in the early 1980s and is situated a few kilometers from Prishtina/Pristina. After conflict in Kosovo in the 1990s, the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) invited tenders for the rehabilitation of Kosovo power station unit B2. In June 2000, the contract was won by a consortium of RWE Power International.

Plant closures
The Energy Strategy of Kosovo aims for the closure of five outdated generating units by 2015 (the Kosova A plant) by the end of 2015, since the units cannot economically be brought into compliance with the European Union Large Combustion Plant Directive. They would need to be closed by 2017 at the latest, as required under the Energy Community Treaty. In closing the units, Kosovo is being supported by the European Commission in preparing the decommissioning of "Kosovo A" in favor of a new lignite coal plant.

Proposal for the New Kosovo power plant
A 2010 EU report stated that plans for the development of a new Kosovo power plant (using lignite coal) had been reconfigured: "The initial installed capacity will be two units of 200-300 MW, the Sibovc lignite field will be developed immediately and participation in the Kosovo B power plant will be included in the package to be offered to investors with a view to refurbishment. The legal unbundling of the distribution and supply functions of the Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK) is due at the end of 2010 with a view to privatisation. Until completion of the new Kosovo power plant project, the other functions will remain integrated in KEK."

A five-part U.S. State Department strategy for Kosovo obtained by ClimateWire suggested closing Kosovo A, rehabilitating Kosovo B to meet E.U. standards, developing a new 600-MW lignite-fired power plant, and privatizing the country's electricity distribution system.

The World Bank is supporting the Lignite Power Technical Assistance Project with a World Bank grant of US$10.5 million and a European Commission grant of Euros 2 million, as well as providing "advisory services" for the inclusion of private capital in the new lignite mine and power plant. In a July 2011 statement to ClimateWire, a World Bank spokesman said the institution had not taken a decision on financing Kosovo B, and that an independent panel of experts was being tasked to determine if the project meets the bank's coal guidelines.

Citizen opposition
Environmental groups have urged the World Bank to allow Dan Kammen, the bank's chief technical specialist for renewable energy, to do a special assessment of Kosovo's options. Kammen did an assessment in Malaysia, which then canceled a proposed coal-fired power plant in favor of alternative energy options. There is a standoff among members of the World Bank's board of directors over a proposal to eliminate coal financing for all middle-income countries. The Obama administration and World Bank officials argue that under the proposed energy strategy, coal lending is permitted for the poorest countries, and Kosovo fits into that category. Environmentalists argue that while the coal plant might meet the letter of the energy strategy, it does not meet the spirit of it, which is to develop cleaner energy sources for developing nations.

Europe and coal

 * Austria and coal
 * Belgium and coal
 * Bulgaria and coal
 * France and coal
 * Germany and coal
 * Greece and coal
 * Hungary and coal
 * Italy and coal
 * Netherlands and coal
 * Norway and coal
 * Poland and coal
 * United Kingdom and coal
 * World Bank and coal

Background information

 * European Environment Agency, European Pollutant Emission Register. (This has a list of power stations and their current emissions).